Cheesecake in a Slow Cooker

Happy Valentine's Day!  Last year my Valentine and I weren't even engaged-now we're married and homeowners. My how things change.

Speaking of looking back...

Last Valentine's Day I thought I would meet Martha Stewart. This year, I might meet Sandra Lee.
Instead of being super nervous (like I was with Martha), I'll be only semi-nervous. Heh heh- get it?  *cough* you might have to do some research and use your critical thinking skills to get that joke.

The year before that I sang Happy Birthday to Mike Bloomberg on Valentine's Day.  In fact, I could do that again today.  But that would attract unwanted attention on the subway.

If you're interested in another post about the history of Valentine's Day, check out this tongue-in-cheek post from 2008 (wow, that's a long time ago!).

Now that we've moved in to our new apartment (!!) I have my own kitchen- this has never been the case for me, since I've always had roommates.  Lately, I've been taking every excuse I can to try new recipes that let me play with my kitchen gadget wedding gifts.

This recipe let me play with my slow cooker AND my mixer!  I heard that a colleague of mine at work makes a cheesecake in a slow cooker, so I had to try it.  I have a small slow-cooker, so I made a 6-inch cheesecake recipe in a 6-inch pyrex bowl.  This recipe is a version of several that you'll see on various blogs, just altered a little for the  6-inch size.

First, of course you crumble the graham crackers for the crust.  I put mine in a plastic bag and smashed them with this which was lying around from our home renovation.  Crushing them took about 4 seconds. 

Crust:

2/3 cup crushed graham cracker

3 T butter

2 T sugar

Next, you smush the crust into the glass bowl, evenly along the bottom and up the sides a bit like so (right).

Then, make the cheesecake batter:
Beat together till smooth (in your mixer!):
12 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
Add till blended:
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Fill the crust with the batter.

Put 2 cups of water in your slow cooker, then gently place the glass bowl inside.  Cover, and cook on high for 2 hours, or until solidified in the middle!

Refrigerate for a while before serving!

So easy.  Give it a try! 

Enjoy your Valentine's Day and your Valentine.  Even if it's your mom. 

P.S. I did not meet Martha last year.  She did not come to the fundraiser event I was attending. Word on 59th Street was that she was staying in the same hotel where the event was that night, but for some reason she didn't feel like making the long schlep down to the charity fundraiser on the 3rd floor of the same building.